This invention relates generally to systems and methods for payment management for supporting mobile payments. Such systems and methods enable rapid integration of payments performed using a mobile device, such as a smart phone, into Point-of-Sales (POS) systems with minimal upgrading. Further, such systems and methods allow for enhanced security because it eliminates the need for sensitive information to be stored on the POS. Lastly, the payment management described herein enables the performance of enhanced analytics to provide users with value added services.
Payments can traditionally be performed using cash, magnetic credit card or debit cards, or using a check. Other payment mechanism, such as smart credit cards, have never experienced the success in the marketplace that these more traditional forms of payment have enjoyed. However, more recently, with the more widespread adoption of smart phones and other mobile devices, the concept of banking using an application loaded upon a mobile device is becoming more common. In addition to traditional banking services, applications are being developed that enable a user to pay for transactions at a POS using their mobile device. These may be referred to as “mobile payment applications”.
Generally, these mobile payment applications are developed by banking institutions that want to allow their account holders to pay from their accounts, much as a debit card does. These banks generally are required to partner with individual merchants, or POS developers, in order to have the application function. This has been the largest hurdle to the deployment of mobile payment applications.
Moreover, the use of a smart phone for payments generates a large amount of user specific data that is currently being under utilized by the banking institutions and merchants alike.
It is therefore apparent that an urgent need exists for systems and methods for payment management which supports mobile payments. Such systems will have the added benefit of eliminating the need for merchants to store sensitive account data, and further provides additional analytics for predictive value added services.